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The Elements and Principles of Design

The elements of art include line, shape, color, value, form, texture, and space. The principles of art are balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, and unity/variety. These principles represent how artists use the elements of art to create effects and convey intent in their works. Balance can be achieved through symmetry, asymmetry, or radial symmetry. Contrast uses differences between elements to draw attention. Emphasis dominates attention in an area through contrast. Movement guides the eye through lines, edges, repetition, or mark-making. Pattern repeats elements uniformly while rhythm repeats them variably. Unity combines elements comfortably while variety prevents monotony.

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225 views2 pages

The Elements and Principles of Design

The elements of art include line, shape, color, value, form, texture, and space. The principles of art are balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, and unity/variety. These principles represent how artists use the elements of art to create effects and convey intent in their works. Balance can be achieved through symmetry, asymmetry, or radial symmetry. Contrast uses differences between elements to draw attention. Emphasis dominates attention in an area through contrast. Movement guides the eye through lines, edges, repetition, or mark-making. Pattern repeats elements uniformly while rhythm repeats them variably. Unity combines elements comfortably while variety prevents monotony.

Uploaded by

Shafaq Nazir
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The elements and principles of design

The elements and principles of art and design are the foundation of the language we use to talk about
art. The elements of art are the visual tools that the artist uses to create a composition. These are line,
shape, color, value, form, texture, and space.

The principles of art represent how the artist uses the elements of art to create an effect and to help
convey the artist's intent.

The principles of art and design are balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, and
unity/variety. The use of these principles can help determine whether a painting is successful, and
whether or not the painting is finished.

The 7 principles of art

Balance

refers to the visual weight of the elements of the composition. It is a sense that the painting feels stable
and "feels right." Imbalance causes a feeling of discomfort in the viewer.

Balance can be achieved in 3 different ways:

Symmetry, in which both sides of a composition have the same elements in the same position, as in a
mirror-image, or the two sides of a face.

Asymmetry, in which the composition is balanced due to the contrast of any of the elements of art. For
example, a large circle on one side of a composition might be balanced by a small square on the other
side

Radial symmetry, in which elements are equally spaced around a central point, as in the spokes coming
out of the hub of a bicycle tire.

Contrast
is the difference between elements of art in a composition, such that each element is made stronger in
relation to the other. When placed next to each other, contrasting elements command the viewer's
attention. Areas of contrast are among the first places that a viewer's eye is drawn. Contrast can be
achieved by juxtapositions of any of the elements of art. Negative/Positive space is an example of
contrast. Complementary colors placed side by side is an example of contrast. Notan is an example of
contrast.

Emphasis

is when the artist creates an area of the composition that is visually dominant and commands the
viewer's attention. This is often achieved by contrast.

Movement

is the result of using the elements of art such that they move the viewer's eye around and within the
image. A sense of movement can be created by diagonal or curvy lines, either real or implied, by edges,
by the illusion of space, by repetition, by energetic mark-making.

Pattern

is the uniform repetition of any of the elements of art or any combination thereof. Anything can be
turned into a pattern through repetition. Some classic patterns are spirals, grids, weaves. For examples
of different pattern types see the Artlandia Glossary of Pattern Design. A popular drawing practice is
Zentangles, in which an abstract or representational outline is divided into different areas, each of which
contains a unique pattern

Rhythm

is created by movement implied through the repetition of elements of art in a non-uniform but
organized way. It is related to rhythm in music. Unlike pattern, which demands consistency, rhythm
relies on variety

Unity/Variety

You want your painting to feel unified such that all the elements fit together comfortably. Too much
unity creates monotony, too much variety creates chaos.You need both. Ideally, you want areas of
interest in your composition along with places for your eye to rest

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